Maraverse: Get a Life
by Reichenbach
Summary: Maraverse #2 Sequel to Family Reunion. The Bat makes his newest Robin (daughter of Babs and Dick) get a hobby. The search isn't going well. Oh yeah, and the Justice League is riding her tail, and she's had about all the teenage angst she can stomach.


Don't own, bla bla bla.   
  
Sequal to Family Reunion, if that counts for anything with anyone.   
  
Get a Life  
  
"You're really researching this hobby thing, aren't you?" my grandfather Jim asked me.   
  
I was reading through a magazine on the table in his kitchen. It was a Saturday, it was snowing, and we were doing the 'quality time' thing. "Well, I don't want to do anything that's too expensive, or requires anything remotely involving skill…"   
  
He finished pouring his coffee at the counter and brought it to the table, then sat down. It was a nice, relaxing Saturday away from my family (another step in the 'rehabilitation' process), it was warm inside, it was cold and snowing outside, and all was well with the world. "You could always take up model ship building?"   
  
I rolled my eyes. "That was Grandpa Bruce's first suggestion."   
  
"Really?"   
  
"Actually, he said ship in a bottle, but it's all the same."   
  
"Leave it to Bruce to make things harder than they need to be. A model ship is just fine for you. We'll get you some glue, a model set, and you'll be just fine. And if that's too hard," he said with a glint in his eye, "I can get you the kind that snap together."   
  
"I want the ship in the bottle!" I declared, closing the hobby magazine and pushing it to the center of the table.   
  
"Calm down. Talk about high-strung. Maybe we need to invest in tranquilizers for you, too."   
  
"You know, I can always tell when you've been hanging around with dad. You come back with a smart mouth."   
  
He shrugged self-deprecatingly. I hated when he did that. He seemed so… harmless. Of course, he could raise bloody hell with the rest of them, and I'd seen him at work, he could be awfully no-nonsense to the point of near-ruthlessness. A quality my other, more pointy-eared grandfather no doubt appreciated. But when he did that shrug thing? He was a teddy bear.   
  
"Ok. Model building sounds just fine. I can do that. Right? Completely harmless…"   
  
"This isn't supposed to be stressful. Just pick something and do it. Unless you plan on making a hobby out of picking a hobby."   
  
"Just… trying to pick the right thing. Maximum outlet, minimal amount of competition or frustration. Or maybe I need the frustration, so I can pour it out on the "thing" instead of at people. I don't know." Was I hyperventilating?  
  
"What about video games or something?"   
  
"Oh, yeah, and something no one in my family can kick my butt at. Cassandra, Tim and Jimmy have me beat there. And… well, it's competitive. Even if you play by yourself." I sighed. "And… umm…" I began with caution. "I need something that is just mine. I think."   
  
"Well, that sounds wise."   
  
I tried to pick up the magazine up again, but when it came down to it, reading about hobbies was pretty boring. He was right. The most prudent and time-effective thing to be done at this point was to pick something and go with it.   
  
"So," I asked. "Wanna go to a movie?" Ok, so I was begging.   
  
"Next thing we need to work on is getting you friends your own age. It can't be healthy being part of the old people's club." I blushed. "And I told your mother the same thing when she was your age. Nothing wrong with you're your peers."   
  
"I HAD friends my own age, they dumped me for my younger brother."   
  
"I heard rumors about that," he said mysteriously.   
  
I swallowed my anger. What had my other grandfather said, about it being surveillance? "Well, whatever. Lets see how they get along without me." Occasionally, I regretted that I couldn't be entirely open with him, the one person whom I really could confide in.   
  
"Grandpa?" I asked as we were getting our coats on. "Do you think when you retire in the spring, that we'll be able to talk about some things… like… Robin things?"   
  
He gave me a pat on the head, like I was a toddler. "We'll see. Depends on how the next guy up for the position takes to the whole… Batman situation."   
  
"Well, There's that Akins guy," I said. "he looks like he's as good as in. He has the line the Mayor wants, and he looks good in front of a camera. He comes off all 'I don't make compromises' though. I guess… well, what's he do after that first breakout? The question is… how stubborn will he be? It wont take him long to realize he's not in Kansas any more, but will he let the 'underground element' help?" I looked at my hands as I put my fuzzy mittens on. "Well, listen to me. Talking work isn't releasing my stress level, is it? I mean… he's a great guy, a good cop… it could just well, get complicated." It was something Batman and I never talked about. Redwing wondered out loud about it occasionally, and if you mention it, Batgirl got all tense. It would… just suck to have a hard time from a guy who… really wasn't that bad. I had to stop. Having anxiety over whether the next guy would be willing to play ball or not wasn't going to make things better.   
  
"It's alright. I worry about the same things. Akins is a good guy. He's just been playing this awfully close to his chest."   
  
I stuck my tongue out as the elevator door closed.   
  
"Well, least he could do is give a girl a little job security." I gave him a hug. "Thanks for hanging on as long as you did. I'm sure retirement at sixty-two musta looked spectacular in this place."   
  
"Eh, What's ten years, between friends." We watched the numbers blink down, four, three… "And I got the chance to see the two most junior members of the team in action. That seems… fairly worth it."   
  
I smiled. Had to love that Grampy of mine.   
  
***  
"Oh, man. That was bad." I groaned. We exited the theatre, both shaking our heads. "I may need to see another movie, just to purge that one from my memory."   
  
"It wasn't that bad." He gave me a sideways glance. "Ok, it was that bad."   
  
I looked around, it was nearing twilight. "Well, I guess this is where I get off. Night job, and all. Maybe I'll pop on over. Hopefully under happy circumstances. And I better not catch you at work tonight. Thanks for the 'date'." I kissed his scratchy cheek and took off. We were down town, so it was only a short walk to my Gotham hidey-hole (never leave home without 'em). It was in the back of a large Broadway-style theatre, in an office they'd walled off years ago. If you got in before eight, you could sneak onto the highest portion of the gridiron and listen to some 'damn fine' opera.   
  
Once I was safely inside my fifth floor hide-away, I started tossing clothes off and pulling on Robin's garb. Before I put the gloves on, I pulled my rings off and dove for the hair goop. I'd had to go back to the dark red of my natural hue for "visibility reasons' but Robin had permission to spike her hair. And as an added touch, I gooped the ends of the points with dark green pomade. Same frequency on the color spectrum, had been my reasoning, and the bat had bought it. I'd noticed he was conceding to my more…reasonable requests lately. I liked it. I'd keep pushing it, until it didn't work any more. Robin had to give back the coat and the choker, but she had permission to wear lipstick on patrol. I could start pushing on a few other points in a little bit. I didn't have to push for everything I wanted all at once, right? Like cup holders in the Batmobile. If I went for that right now, I knew I'd get shut down. I was saving that for when I got shot or something and he was feeling really guilty.   
  
I was supposed to meet up with my senior partner and 'other half' at the old clock tower (mom's old home). I still had some time on my hands, so I decided to take what I considered to be the scenic rout. This included venturing into to "Redwing Territory." I saw him "doing" the roof tops not so far ahead and I pressed to keep up. I had long legs too, but geeze. He was thirty-two, and a big jerk.   
  
"Reddy!" I called out finally. He knew I was here, and he was just being mean about it now. "Red. Wait up! Or I tell Spoiler I saw you and Batgirl screwing in the back of the Redbird!" he stopped on the roof top of the Projects.   
  
"Haha," he said sarcastically as I finally dropped by his side.   
  
"I thought it was hysterical," I inform him.   
  
Past the mask, I could see him frown. "I always knew it was a bad idea for someone with Dick's sense of humor to reproduce."   
  
It was my turn to scowl. "So, where's your harem tonight?"   
  
"Batgirl's got other plans, and, uh, Spoiler's not going to be putting in an appearance for a while."   
  
I nudged his ribs. "What'd you do? Knock her up?" I laughed.   
  
He didn't respond.   
  
"Geeze. So, uh, who knows?"   
  
"Your dad, and no one else, and I'd like to keep it that way. For a little bit."   
  
Wow, this was deep shit. More family trauma type stuff. I could sell this kind of dirt and make money. Wonder if Bats knew. You never knew what he knew, and what he KNEW.   
  
"Till we're remarried."   
  
Without thought, I shook my head and sighed. "Ah, Timmy, you've convinced me yet again that life is far less complicated without THAT kind of stuff."   
  
Silence.   
  
More silence.  
  
"So, uh, I heard about Young Justice. They're a bunch of pains in the asses, aren't they?" Yeah, they were. And my best friends in the world too.   
  
"It's ok, I'm over it. Time to move on."   
  
"Supes will be disappointed, he's always looked to Robins to keep the place in check."   
  
"He can find another monkey-boy. I need some space. Young Justice needs to find it's own way. I've been dodging calls from half the Justice League, wondering what the heck went wrong, and why it can't be patched up with one of Alfred's cookies. It's not going to happen. Not soon at least."   
  
"Wait till they come crawling?"   
  
I nodded.   
  
"Fair enough."   
  
"Hey, you guys should visit more. V-day is coming up. Well, maybe you want to spend that with her. Flowers, hearts… Or Presidents Day, whatever. I mean. Don't just call when you want mom to do something."   
  
"I'll think about it, kid. You'd better get going. The Bat's looking for you, and I don't need to be found." He looked over my shoulder, and I turned too. The bat wasn't looking, he was in hot pursuit. Before he could arrive, Tim shot off a line and took off. As if Batman could just look at him and know. His "superpower" seemed to be deductive reasoning (among other things), but he wasn't THAT good. I could keep stuff from him. Like when I was just a tiny Robin of the age of eight, and it took him until the age of nine to find my booger collection under my seat in the car.   
  
Obviously, I was late meeting him at the clock tower. "I, uh, got hung-up scoping the latest gossip?" Batman, as always when he didn't approve, was silent. "So, What's on the menu for tonight, boss?" I asked as we sped off through the air. I had to say… I liked the flying. Or as close as I could come to it without sprouting wings.  
  
"Stake out."   
  
Here we go. Better get my leg stretching in now, because once we settle in, that'll be it. Time to use some crazy fu magic (as I called it. All the different techniques had a name, and my masters would kill me, if they heard me being this disrespectful now) to make sure I don't like die tonight. Actually, I kinda liked it. Just like how I kind of liked taking a hit now and again. Dad and Tim complained about some things, and I think that's why I liked them, secretly. And a little sleep deprivation never hurt anyone.   
  
"Yummy. Can I get A-1 on that?" He didn't even look at me. "That's what I like about you, Bats. Absolutely no sense of humor. It makes me seem like a stand-up comic next to you."   
  
"Don't call me Bats."   
  
"Yes sir, Mr. Batty, sir." I was really pushing it tonight, wasn't I?  
  
Steak-out hour two. God, I was hungry, wasn't I? I was thinking of steak and potatoes and how good it'd all taste going into my belly. "You know what's really good?" I whispered. "Mashed potatoes with butter and steak sauce on top."   
  
He pointed to the window we were watching. "Pay attention."   
  
Hour four. My middle fingers were starting to fall asleep. That was kind of weird. "So… uh… hear about Tim knocking up Stephanie?"   
  
He actually looked at me. Haha, got him. He DIDN'T know. Tim was going to kill me for telling. "So that was your juicy gossip. Figures."   
  
Can't have THAT much sex (in the back of cars, during wholesome family get-togethers) and expect nothing to happen. "Well, they're getting remarried, I hear."   
  
And that was the end of that conversation. I was sure Tim was going to hear about it… like, 'why would you tell the twip of a kid and not tell me?' Yup. Well, it was nice knowing everyone.   
  
Hour five, nothing's happening. I draw the line at four and a half hours with no action. Ok, I tried so hard to have the patience of the Bat, but what the hell… four and a half hours is a fair enough amount of time.   
  
"I got school tomorrow," I said.   
  
"Tomorrow's Sunday." Worth a shot, I thought.   
  
And that was all I said the remainder of the evening. You couldn't do much once you'd been shut down like that. Occasionally he forgot the difference between the school year and summer break, now and again what day of the week it was, in certain situations, but I wasn't winning tonight.   
  
I felt a stirring in the air. "Go away, Kon," I said without looking behind me.   
  
"I, uh was told… Um, I want to talk to you?"   
  
"What time is it?" I asked.   
  
"Umm… three…"   
  
"Is it dark outside?"   
  
He nodded.   
  
"Then that means I'm on my night job. Go back to Happy Harbor and leave me alone."   
  
"Supes said—"  
  
I glared at him. "I don't care. Superman and I can have this discussion later. I'm not a monkey-boy to be ordered around by any of those costume-types. I'm through with Young Justice, and you all are going to have to live with that."   
  
Kon gulped and stood there in silence for a while, then flew off without another word.   
  
"Nice," was all Batman said. Well, it was more than I usually got, so I was pleased.   
  
"I try. Suppose I'll have to call Big Blue when I get home and ask him why he's begging Kon to beg me back." I sighed. "Is it just me, or does no one get it?"   
  
"He thinks he's doing the 'right thing'."   
  
Our guys moved. My theory was that a watched pot never boils. Divert yourself for a few minutes, and bam, suddenly they're in motion. We followed them to the pier. "This isn't good," I said, scanning the docks. "It's your buddy Talia. What's she doing with drug runners?"   
  
"Their side-job is arms smuggling," he informed me. Guns and drugs? These were busy little boys.   
  
"Okiedokie." I knew without saying what was going to happen here. He'd follow Talia when they parted company and I'd bust thugs one two and three. Talia's father was SO his, it wasn't even funny. He pretended like I didn't even exist. He only wanted The Detective. Nanner, nanner, good for him. It's a 'thing' that had been going on since before I was born, and it was going to go on well after I hung up the Robin suit (if they could ever make me).   
  
I chased my new friends until they got back to their boss man. I recorded them saying some pretty damned incriminating things. I knew I'd get the little low lifes, and their boss man, but not the boss's boss, or their supplier. It felt good to be doing the Robin thing again, in my city. Geeze I sounded like the Bat. But damnit, I liked this stuff.   
  
Cops came, bla bla bla. That was sort of the anti-climax, ALWAYS. Bullock waddled over to me. I swear, the more weight he put on, the more he walked like the Penguin. "So, Freak, what's the story?"   
  
I put my hands on my hips. "I'm not tellin', till you take the freak thing back."   
  
That's why we got along so well, we didn't get along so well. "Fine, kid. What's the deal?"   
  
So I told him. I told him about the illegal arms, and the drugs, but I didn't say anything about Talia or her father. Bla bla, more cop stuff… I won't bother sharing. Why you ask? Because I'm crouched away in a corner, half-watching the proceedings, half-dosing. Shh, don't tell my boss.   
  
"Thought we were supposed to be meeting under happier circumstances?" Grampy was coming this way.   
  
"Well, our surveillance gave us some good results."   
  
"Where's your other half?"  
  
"Little Lantern?"   
  
"The Bat." No one could take a joke on the job.   
  
"He had someone else to run down. Redwing knocked up Spoiler," I added, just for shock value. Nope. No one around me could take a joke.   
  
I told him who was working for whom, where we got the information from, giving him the whole big long paper trail. Yeah, it sucked, but only 'official' guys like Superman and Wonder Woman could get away with just saying a thing and it being accepted. You want to be an urban legend, this is the consequence.   
  
"You could have done something a little… safer than jumping all of them."   
  
I shrugged. "I had it under control. Sides… hehe." I dumped my cache of bullets on the ground. "They wouldn'ta hit me. When they were playing cards, I snuck around and ripped the clips out of their semis, emptied them, and put 'em back. I like to show off, but I aint stupid." Whoops. Had I forgotten to give those to Bullock?   
  
"Anyways, you see my other half around, tell him how spectacular I was tonight." I tipped my 'invisible hat' as I called it, and took off.   
  
My first call was home. "Oracle, can you give me a location on Batman?"   
  
"NO. But Superman would like to talk to you as soon as you get in."   
  
I sighed. "Well, I'm heading home. If you talk to the Bat, give him the skinny on my location." I also told her about the guys I brought down. If she felt like passing that on too, that'd be awesome.   
  
I tried to hail my boss-man on my communicator. "Batman, are you engaged?" I asked. There was no response. "Well, guess you are. Unless you say otherwise, this girlfriend's hitting the shower, then the sack."   
  
***  
  
"What's this about you not being my 'monkey boy' any more?" whoops. Don't say anything to Superboy that you don't want repeated. Sorry, Supes, but we all know who runs the show these days.   
  
I stared up at him in the big display. As if he weren't large enough already, mom's screens had to make him more so.   
  
"Just what I meant, Superman. Someone else is going to have to keep law and order with Young Justice. It can't be me any more."   
  
"Why not? Because of a childish spat between teenagers? Lantern told me what happened. It's nothing that a few 'I'm sorries' and a promise not to go after a team mate again can't fix."   
  
"THEY didn't listen to ME and I'm supposed to be sorry?"   
  
"I didn't just mean apologies on your part."   
  
I loved him, but he was too good to be true. That's where his problems came in, especially deal with the Gotham contingency. "Either way, I'm not going back."   
  
"Don't be stubborn, Robin."   
  
"It's not just a childish spat, Superman."   
  
"Then tell me why you can't go back?"  
  
"Batman said I should lighten my responsibilities."   
  
"If anything, it should be with Gotham, not with Young Justice. You need each other."   
  
"It's been with Gotham too. I've even been forced to get a hobby."   
  
"I'll talk to him."   
  
"It won't do any good." He just didn't get it, really. "Look. There was some trouble at Christmas--"  
  
"He'll listen to me."   
  
I folded my arms over my chest, hurt. "Listen to ME! Look, I can't handle any more right now. This is as much as I can take. I've got family issues going on right here, I am TRYING ever so hard to survive my junior year of high school, and I can't HANDLE Young Justice any more! I can't even handle my FAMILY any more! I spend all of my free time with my other grandfather just because he doesn't wear a cape or a mask. You wanna know what my issues are? I don't trust my brother, my entire family likes him better, Young Justice kicked ME out in addition to me quitting, and the only time my life makes sense is when I'm on the roof tops of Gotham, but now I'm being told I need a hobby because I spend too much TIME on the roof tops, and that I can't be Robin forever, which isn't that great because I don't even know what I want to BE when I grow up!" Seething, I cut the connection.   
  
I'm sure Clark had a perfect childhood, and I hear rumors of his perfect parents. The only thing that comes close to NOT being perfect in his life is his wife, who's such a spitfire, she somehow ends up being perfect too.   
  
Tonight had felt so good. Super-people one and two had to go and ruin it. This whole week had gone great, in fact. We'd kept all the wackos inside Arkham where they were supposed to be, petty crime had been down, violent crime hadn't been a problem, and we'd been working on a few things like our drug cartel friends.   
  
There was a whisk of air against my back as I started removing my gloves.   
  
"Do you want to talk about this?" He was getting slow.   
  
"Superman, there's nothing to talk about. You heard me." I refused to look at him. I unclipped my cape and threw it over the chair, then began on the belt.   
  
"Mara."   
  
"Clark." Good, now that we've proven that we all know each other's names…   
  
"You could have told me. You could have told the Justice League if you needed extended leave…"   
  
"Look, this is sink or swim time for ALL of us. We all need to just… find our way. And if Young Justice asks me back, it should be because they want me or need me. Not because Superman, big deal of the Justice League says they have to ask me back. Maybe… they don't need a leader. Maybe I am not the leader they need."   
  
"As sponsors of Young Justice, JLA should have been informed of these changes. It isn't just your problem. WE have our own reputation and support from the government to look out for."   
  
I unzipped the boots. This was about as naked as I could get with company in the room. Sometimes Kevlar and spandex were just a little bit… WARM, and I seriously wanted to get into some cotton clothes.   
  
"Always looking out for the PR angle, aren't you, Clark?"   
  
"You know our ability to operate depends upon our operating with the sanction of the government."   
  
"Clark, this is just a little too… big for me right now. I'm just trying to find a hobby."   
  
"If you can't handle relating to other groups, then perhaps we DID pick the wrong leader." His voice was stern, dry.   
  
"You just keep thinking that, Clark. You're not going to bully me, and you're not going to try the crap Batman tries on me. At least when he says 'if you can't handle this then you're not good enough' he means it. Personally, I don't need the sanction of official government to operate. The Bat and his people have been rumors for quarter of a century. No reason that should change now. Am I concerned for my 'brothers' in tights? Maybe. But somehow, Superman, you always manage to smooth things over. Find yourself another leader for Young Justice. It's not going to be me."   
  
"Mara, the truth is, you're the only one qualified."   
  
"Give the job to Kon-El."   
  
"You know as well as I do that as badly as Superboy tries, he's STUCK. Mentally, physically and emotionally. He's even coming to accept it, maybe, just a little."   
  
"I know there aren't as many kids out there doing the cape and tights gig." I refused to call them—us superheros. It was some stupid media word. Only super people I knew were Man, Boy and Girl. The rest of us were 'costumed freaks' as my good friend Bullock would say. "But you still should find someone. Or it's time to disband Young Justice. YOU watch over Kon for a while. See how much fun it is."   
  
"Young heroes need Young Justice. It has done you good, believe it or not. It's one of the reasons I'd like to see you go back. Crystal is too young to lead. Our Little Green Lantern is too new to the ring. Your brother… is more a mascot than a member. He still doesn't even qualify for official membership for another year. Kon needs watched over, Yellow Hurricane has more speed and more power than she knows what to do with, Greiton is almost too old for Young Justice, and he still doesn't have enough people skills for the job. Do you see why we need you? And you need to socialize. And I don't mean the little performances you put on occasionally at social functions for your grandfather as the dutiful debutant. You need to work with people who are NOT from Gotham and you need to face problems OTHER than crime and psychopaths."   
  
"Clark, I'm not your man any more. Maybe I never was. Let me get my life together, get out of the 11th grade, and maybe we can talk again in the summer."   
  
"Sixteen," he said out loud. "Seems like it's a tough year for everyone. Just try and get through it, kid. And if Young Justice isn't 'your thing' any more, just let me know. We'll… put them on inactive or something for now."   
  
I nodded. I'd hate to see that happen, we did have a reputation to uphold, but I had to let this play itself out. I couldn't interfere.   
  
"Thanks… Uncle Clark. Sorry I've been a hard-nose lately."   
  
"I have to keep reminding myself you're a kid. And you're entitled to be one."   
  
"Without adults engineering solutions," I added. THAT was the heart of what had been bugging me. People saying that just getting through this or that was the solution. Right now I had to find my own solution. And a hobby.   
  
He started turning to go.   
  
"Uncle Clark?"   
  
"Yeah?" he asked.   
  
"Do you have a hobby?"   
  
"A few I get around to now and again."   
  
"If you were going to like… recommend one?"   
  
"Model ship building?"   
  
"Why do you guys keep saying that? I was going to do it… I don't know, I kinda chickened out."   
  
"Of model ship building?"   
  
"Yeah. Shh. I haven't told anyone. All those little pieces…"   
  
"There're the kind that snap together."   
  
"Good night, Uncle Clark."   
  
He smiled and shook his head. "Good night, Mara. Robin."   
  
And he was gone.   
  
My favorite brooding masked man unpeeled himself from the shadows. "You handled that well."   
  
"Thanks. That puts me two for two." Hey, twice in one night—good solutions, and Bats approving of the way I handled things. Of course, mom and I had had a good night like this once, and it had ended in me kicking my brother in the head. "I wanna go to bed. Unless you have something?"   
  
My mother came into the room. "Has my house become a spot for transients?"   
  
I had to smile. Speaking, or thinking, of the devil. "I came here to retrieve Robin. We're going out again."   
  
"She has school tomorrow."   
  
"Tomorrow's Sunday."   
  
I smiled.   
  
"Have fun, kids." Mom said, then.  
  
"Not so fast." Mom's eyebrows went up. "We're going to need your assistance. I ran into an old… friend tonight."   
  
"And where do you think you're dragging my kid of to?"   
  
"Canada?" Damn, it could never be anywhere cool. I mean… warm.   
  
Gotta love that Bat/Oracle battle of the wills thing. She could make him flinch. Only mom and Dinah could do that.   
  
"Will she be back in time for school on Monday?"  
  
"I'll just tell Ra's Al Ghul that we have a deadline to meet and I'm sure he'll be incredibly understanding."   
  
"Don't try having a sense of humor, Bruce, it's unbecoming." Mom turned to me. "Take your winter gear, kid."   
  
I took off for "the war chest" in the attic where we kept all the important stuff. It was really a large closet with weapons and special suits and the like, all nice and vaulted in safely. I was only allowed in the stash of special suits when I was on a job for someone else, so it had been a while since I'd been in there last—and since it had been a while since I'd been inside, it took me a few minutes to find what I was looking for.   
  
When I came back, my bag thrown over my shoulder, mom was making arrangements for us. Travel, transportation, a place to hole up… "Hey, if you don't mind… I wanna have a minute with mom before I go?"   
  
Parental type things made him uncomfortable, so he left us.   
  
"Um, just so you don't hear about it from… like… the minutes at the next JLA meeting, I've officially resigned from Young Justice."   
  
She stopped typing and looked at me. "And you decided that all by yourself?"   
  
"Yeah. No pressure from the Bat, I swear. Even Tim seems… ok with it. And you know how protective he is of YJ's rep. Anyways, I just wanted you to hear from me. That's what Uncle Clark was here about. I might go back… just not right now. Things're so… complicated." I put my shoes back on and fastened my cape. So much for getting out of the sweaty spandex.   
  
"You really need to talk to us more. I wish we'd find these things out maybe a little BEFORE you rush off doing them?" I nodded, rising.   
  
After I fastened my belt, I went over to her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry. I just felt like… I needed to do something on my own. Even at the risk of making folks mad." It'd been a long time since we'd been… affectionate. I was a finicky teenager, and she was busy… "Mom… I made this promise back at Christmas, but I didn't follow through with it. When I get back… can we spend more time together? Like… outside of 'the job'? Movie, make some cookies… you know? Something?" Why was she being all quiet?   
  
Suddenly she took my hands and pressed them to her lips. She'd gotten… all emotional. "Sure honey. I'd really, really like that. I was afraid you were out-growing us."   
  
I kissed her head. "Outgrow you guys? Hah. I'll be lucky to escape you in a pine box." She swatted at my behind. How'd she get her hand under the cape so quickly?   
  
"You're NEVER too old to spank."   
  
"You gotta catch me first!" I said, dashing for the door. Before I went out, I blew her a kiss.   
  
Sometimes, you needed less of a life to get a life. That was my new growing theory.   
  
Grandpa and I left about ten minutes later. My family tended to not be big on good-byes. Hopefully I'd be able to say hello to my brother and father at breakfast time Monday morning, and then all would be well. For now there was just the journey north.   
  
"I hear you've been procrastinating on the hobby," Batman said, breaking the silence that had gone on for over an hour.   
  
"Well, I did a lot of research. I'm going to stick with model ship building. At least until I try it and find out I don't like it, and switch to knitting."   
  
"What's wrong with ships in bottles?"   
  
"I was told by an expert on the subject that you just like to make things more complicated than they need to be," I answered with a grin. "Anyways, you crazy men folk are hung up on the ship thing. So I figured I'd give it a try. I'll start with star ships and work my way down to u-boats. Sound fair?"   
  
"Whatever it takes, Robin."   
  
Yup. Whatever it takes.   
  
END  
  
  



End file.
